Yuma Murukami (JPN) sprints to gold in the men's 500m ahead of recent training partner Laurent Dubreuil (CAN). @ ISU
International friendship gave Yuma Murakami (JPN) and Laurent Dubreuil (CAN) a boost heading into the new season. The Japanese sprinter went to Quebec to train with his Canadian rival for seven weeks last summer, and it paid off for both in the 500m at the first World Cup event of the season in Stavanger.
Murakami won his career second World Cup gold, with Dubreuil coming second. Patrick Roest (NED) won his tenth career World Cup race in the long distances.
Murakami’s opener and Dubreuil’s cornering
Murakami made the difference in his opener. The Japanese sprinter hammered out an unmatched time of 9.4 seconds over the first 100m, eventually finishing in 34.70s.
Dubreuil was the only other skater to break the 35-second mark in Stavanger, clocking 34.75 in the final pairing.
Jun-Ho Kim (KOR) took bronze in 35.01.
“I’m not good enough to be angry about silver,” Dubreuil said. “But I still feel I could have skated a bit faster.
“I left some on the ice, but Yuma had a really, really good race, a 9.4 opener especially. That’s incredible.
When somebody is that good, you can’t afford too many mistakes. To win I need to be flawless, but I made a few little mistakes.”
Olympic 1000m silver medalist Dubreuil again had to be content with second place. @ ISU
Dubreuil was happy to see Murakami perform as well as he did. The two skaters have been around for years and after the long Olympic season, they used each other to get their motivation back.
“In the middle of the summer, Yuma came to train with me for two months,” the 30-year-old Dubreuil explained. The Canadian had struggled with back problems and found it difficult to fully focus on training.
“When he [Murakami] showed up, it really helped me get the mindset back again, and being able to focus again, because one of the best in the world was coming to Quebec to train with me. I needed to be good for him as well, because it’s a big investment for him.
Murakami, who turns 30 in December, had enjoyed his seven weeks in Quebec too and both skaters said they learned a lot from each other.
Dubreuil: “He opens 9.4s, so I learned I have to be faster in the opener.”
“What I learned especially from Laurent was better cornering,” Murakami said.
The Japanese sprinter executed the lessons well at the Sørmarka Arena in Stavanger. He said: “I had a good pace from the start and I managed to accelerate, so I’m very happy with my result.”
Roest takes tenth long-distance World Cup gold, but Eitrem fastest of the day
Patrick Roest (NED) started in the final pairing of the men’s 5000m. When the Dutchman took to the ice, none of the previous 14 A-Division skaters had managed to go faster than Sander Eitrem (NOR) in the B Division earlier on Saturday. Eitrem had stopped the clock at 6 minutes, 18.31 seconds, a time even Roest wasn’t able to match. The Dutchman won the A Division in 6:20.56.
Patrick Roest takes 5000m gold, winning by nearly a second. @ ISU
Although the times in the A Division and the B Division are not really comparable, because the B Division has an advantage due to more draft because they start in quartets instead of pairings, Roest had noticed Eitrem’s performance:
“He’s on a good trajectory, but it’s tough to compare A Division and B Division times, especially in this hall because the low ceiling makes the circular air flow a lot stronger [in the B Division quartets].
“But [his performance] says enough. He’ll be someone to look out for in the A Division next week [at the second World Cup in Heerenveen, NED].”
In Stavanger, Davide Ghiotto (ITA) came second in 6:21.51 and Beau Snellink (NED) third (6:22.28) on his individual World Cup debut.
“I hadn’t expected this,” the Dutch youngster said. “Beforehand I feared relegation from the A Division, because next week in Heerenveen, I really wanted to start in the A Division, that’s what I’ve worked for all year. It even kept me awake last night.”
Instead of finishing in the bottom four, Snellink got on the podium. He had anxiously watched the remaining skaters after already having set his time in the third pair.
“I think my heart rate was at least as high as the heart rate of the skaters on the ice, but it turned out to be enough for a medal in the end,” he said.
For all information about the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series, please visit the webpage here.
World Cup Standings - Men
World Cup Standings - Women
Where to watch
Viewers will be able to watch the World Cup sessions (local time) via their national broadcaster/channel.
For countries where there are no broadcasters, the ISU will offer a live stream on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. You will find the full list on the Where to watch webpage here.
ISU World Cup Short Track Speed Skating Series events 2022/23:
Nov 11 - 13, 2022 Stavanger /NOR
Nov 18 - 20, 2022 Heerenveen/ NED
Dec 09 - 11, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Dec 16 - 18, 2022 Calgary /CAN
Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
Feb 17 - 19, 2023 World Cup Final - Tomaszów Mazowiecki /POL
About ISU World Cup Speed Skating Series
The ISU World Cup Speed Skating is a Series of international Speed Skating competitions which takes place annually.
The Series started in 1985 and usually consists of six or seven events including the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Final. The events take place across North America, Europe and Asia.
Skaters can earn points at each competition, and the skater who has the most points on a given distance at the end of the Series is the World Cup winner of that particular distance.
The results from the World Cup competitions in the first part of the season are the main qualifying method for the ISU Speed Skating Championships and also for the Olympic Winter Games.
A number of World Cup titles are awarded every season, for Men: 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, combined 5000 m / 10000 m, Team Pursuit, Mass Start and Team Sprint. For Women 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, the combined 3000 m / 5000 m, Team Pursuit, Mass Start and Team Sprint. For further information please visit isu.org.
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